When I tell people I catch a little boat across the river to get to and from work every day, their eyes widen in amazement.

I often have to explain how the journey works to satisfy their wonder at such an odd commute; I walk to Stonehouse, step on a passenger ferry, cross the River Tamar for eight minutes and I’m home.

While its a novelty for some to cross a river by boat to get from one place to another so frequently, for the Cremyll Ferry crew, they get the pleasure of navigating the Devon to Cornwall route up to 58 times a day.

There has been a Cremyll Ferry for more than 1,000 years and it is said to be the oldest ferry crossing in Britain.

Thanks to its constant use by commuters from Cornwall making their way into Plymouth and further, and the bustling tourist season where people from all over use the boat to visit the picturesque Mount Edgcumbe on the other side, the ferry has managed to stay alive.

But it’s no easy job working on the ferry; it’s a minimum of 13-and-a-half hours’ work a day and the only break the crew gets is 20 minutes between an early AM service to grab a bite in Elvira’s Cafe on Admirals Hard.

We meet at 6am sharp when the stars are still in the sky. I’m greeted by Francis Knight, who has worked on the ferry since he was a young boy, along with deckhand Max Jones.

I’m taken through the back of a haunting boatyard to find a tiny wooden dingy tied up on the shore; this is what the crew use to row out to the Edgcumbe Belle which is moored at Cremyll.

Max has told me that today is a good day, and the river is calm; but when it’s windy and lashing with rain it can take double the amount of time to reach the boat with one man rowing in those conditions.

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I watch the sunrise light up the Royal William Yard opposite, and feel lucky that I’m up in time to see it. I can imagine being by the water and experiencing some of the most amazing scenes Mother Nature has to offer has its perks for the Cremyll Ferry veterans.

Tea is the first order of the day. We sip it while the first haul of commuters board on the Cornwall side; they’re generally Princess Yacht workers, but Fran slips in that he has seen a few people doing the ‘walk of shame’ in his time.

The Cremyll Ferry

The ferry runs every half an hour beginning at 6.45am and in winter, finishes Stonehouse side at 6.45pm. By the time passengers have boarded and fares are collected, the journey is done. There really is no time for respite between trips.

Max Jones has worked on the water all of his life. He started out travelling the world in the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) before moving on to work with fellow colleague Fran at Tamar Cruising, becoming a ferryman on the Cremyll Ferry around six years ago.

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Max, 54, said: “I enjoy meeting people who come on the ferry; I always say, you get a snippet of five minutes of someone’s life, which is when you get to know people.”

The chirpy deckhand continued: “People who don’t cross very often sometimes say, ‘I feel sea sick’. I tell them that can’t be true because we’re on a river.

“In the summer, it’s nice because it’s warm and people are coming across because they want to – everyone is happy.”

But it’s a different story when the weather is bad.

“You can expect to go though two or three coats and have soggy feet if it’s rough weather, it does take the Mickey,” Max added.

But at the end of the mammoth day, the crew are always in high spirits – I think it might be something in the sea air.

Fran, skipper of the 127 capacity Edgcumbe Belle, has been involved with the ferry since he was a young boy; his dad, Johnny Knight, took over the company in the 1940s before it was handed down to Fran.

Something of a local celebrity, Fran is always greeted up in the wheelhouse by commuters young and old.

The 68-year-old’s passion for his job really shows; the ferry is his lifeblood and he has some heartwarming and heartbreaking stories to tell about his time on the water.

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“It gave me a chance to see my dad more on the boat; the ferry service has changed a lot, it used to be busier back then – I worked eight days a week and threw myself into it.

“People ask me, ‘Do you not get bored?’ but it is the nature of the job, I enjoy it for what it is.”

Fran worked the Cremyll Ferry with his two brothers, Michael and Desmond, alongside father Johnny – but Fran is the only surviving member of the family holding down the history of the ferry.

Sadly, Michael died after having an unexpected brain haemorrhage in the wheelhouse of the Cremyll Ferry and Desmond passed away from cancer.

Johnny was also still working as a skipper when he died. Fran spoke of how his dad had not felt well one day and after mooring the ferry at Southdown Marina, he then suffered a heart attack.

Fran said: “His [Johnny’s] first love were the boats; he taught me everything.”

There’s a crack running the length of the slipway on the Cornish side of the route. Fran tells me people say it’s where Johnny wore down the ground from making so many trips with his teapot to and from the ferry.

The experienced skipper recalled a few funny memories throughout his career, including one storm which was so ferocious it knocked the deckhand – and a whole tray of tea – into the sea.

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Fran laughed that he was most concerned about the tea he was going to miss out on.

Folklore tales are relayed to me – apparently, there used to be a dog who would board the ferry on its own and there was also a made up saga around Fang the cat.

Years ago, Plymouth Sound Radio put out an announcement that there was a black cat roaming Mount Edgcumbe, and if anyone saw the cat they should report it to the radio.

Fran says people used to come on the ferry with boxes of cat food and in Cremyll, a cardboard cutout of Fang was put up.

Horses, animals and carriages also used to be taken across the river in the ferry.

Francis and ex-wife Jean Knight ended up selling the Cremyll Ferry business to Ben Squire of Plymouth Boat Trips in July last year, but both parties continue to work for the ferry.

The new owner, who began his growing boat business in 1999 after purchasing his first fishing boat, says he feels “very lucky” to own such an iconic business and crossing.

Ben, 41, said: “The Cremyll Ferry is the oldest running ferry and it is just truly fantastic.

“The people on the route are great, it has a loyal local following and it has the old-school human interaction; everyone seems to be happy when they go on the ferry – it’s an enjoyable trip.”

Ben, who also owns the Cawsand Ferry and Plymouth Boat Trips for cruises and fishing, plans to make the service bigger and better in the new year, with the addition of a huge boat to take over from the Edgcumbe Belle on the busier trips.

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A new 250-capacity boat, the Plymouth Voyager, is being brought to the Barbican to replace the Plymouth Sound, which will help out on the River Tamar route.

The ferry is almost always at its full capacity during the summer, so with the addition of the larger Plymouth Sound, a new pram aisle, extra seating and space, more tourists and commuters can make the most of seeing Drakes Island, Mount Edgcumbe, the Sound and Royal William Yard from the boat.

In 2013, disaster struck when a Royal Navy landing craft from HMS Raleigh collided with the Northern Belle – then operating as the Cremyll Ferry.

The boat was a complete write-off, but Ben is in talks with local boat builders in the hope of restoring the historic boat back to its former Edwardian glory, with developments on the plans being “quite exciting” for the marine enthusiast.

You can catch the Cremyll Ferry from Admirals Hard at Stonehouse or Cremyll everyday. For more information, visit www.plymouthboattrips.co.uk/ferries/cremyll-ferry/.